Slovenia and Ukraine concluded the second round of second semifinal rehearsals yesterday, and just in case #YOU missed their performances, we have included reviews of their rehearsals as well as individual clips here!

SLOVENIA – Lea Sirk – Hvala, ne!

Even though she dances a lot, her singing sounds really good. She loves the camera and the camera loves her. Judging by some angles, there should be an interaction with the crowd, but we should wait for the semifinal to see if it will work out. A very urban performance overall, and once again the ‘glitch’ part that occurs before the second chorus works really well!

UKRAINE – Mélovin – Under the Ladder

Another amazing performance by Mélovin. You already know about the piano thing but it has been polished, the only new thing is that the stairs are even more on fire and it almost looks like at times that his jacket is gonna get burned. A+ for the vocals and camera shots. Also, there are a LOT of pyro effects have been added to the performance. Ukraine should do very well with this, and could potentially be right up towards the top at least in the semi-final.

What do #YOU think of Slovenia and Ukraine’s rehearsals? Share your thoughts with us on our forum HERE or join the discussion below and on social media!

Have #YOU been busy today? Don’t feel like you have to miss out, as we’ve got you all covered! #YOU can check out the archived live stream and short reviews of the performances below, and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for further live streaming and updates from Lisbon!

SLOVENIA – Lea Sirk – Hvala, ne!

Lea Sirk brings the energy and vibe from her EMA and Amsterdam performances to the Lisbon stage in a big big way with her rehearsal earlier this afternoon! The frame dance from the national selection has gone, but in its place is a much more dynamic staging. The backdrop is all in pink and purple hues much like in Slovenia. However, the real high point of this performance comes before the second chorus, as the arena turns black and a confused Lea Sirk asks for the music to come back, fearing a technical glitch. However, she then gets the song going again by clapping for the audience before the stage bursts back into life once more. I am sure that this moment, similar to Barei’s slip in 2016, will inject a dose of adrenaline into the audience and really lift this performance’s already surging energy!

UKRAINE – Mélovin – Under the Ladder

Ukraine finish the semi-final with a flourish and again there are shades of the original national final performance from Mélovin, with an added twist. The piano on a fire-threatened plinth remains, but Mélovin begins inside the piano, performing the opening bars before being lifted up out of the piano by a mechanical arm. He then moves down to the stage to perform the song in a similar vein to Vidbir. Towards the end of the song he goes back up the stairs to play the piano following the bridge, where the steps catch fire in a similar way to the selection. The backdrop is in red with some white highlights which adds to the gothic dark feel of the performance. It’s a good rehearsal although it appears that there are some technical issues with the flames and the stand, but Mélovin’s great vocal performance is a highlight.

Tune in tomorrow as we bring #YOU updates of the first batch of second-round rehearsals from the arena and Lisbon!

Image credits: Andres Putting/Thomas Hanses (EBU)

What do #YOU think of today’s rehearsals? Share your thoughts with us on our forum HERE or join the discussion below and on social media!

Our next country looms on the horizon, but before we can welcome them to our “Expert” Panel, we must first take a look at the reaction to the last. How did #YOU feel about the entry from Australia?

ApEsc (Forum) – “About a month ago I said that Australia and Spain are my favorites, in a kind of draw, and as of now, after the show in Israel, Australia is completely in my first place by a relatively large margin.”

Iker (Forum) – “For me, this is the quintessence of the generic song and I dislike the Australian entry. It’s likely to finish high though.”

Howard A. (Facebook) – “When I first heard that this year’s Australian song was called ‘We Got Love’, I had a good idea of what it would be like. I reckon I got it about 95% right. ;-)”

So some good and bad reviews across the board for the song and this is reflected in the score; Australia’s final tally from the ‘televoters’ is 57 points. We’ll find out how this stacks up later on. Next up, it’s Slovenia!

36. SLOVENIA – Lea Sirk – Hvala, ne!

9 points

Calvin – “Slovenia are one of a small handful of countries this year who actually use a drop quite well. After the prechorus, the aggressive, loud, powerful cry of “hvala ne, ne!” really stands out; it’s the best part of a very strong entry. Lea is a really compelling performer who brings something fun and agreeable to the song as well; she seems to be enjoying the song a lot, and it comes across to me as a listener. Really strong entry overall.”

8 points

Zack – “Sassy despite its rather barebones structure and backing. I feel like a revamp could have really helped this song go to the next level. Still, Lea is a strong and likable singer. I remember her vividly standing out back in 2014 as backup for Tinkara Kovac. I’m overjoyed to see her get her chance as the lead.”

7 points

Efe – “Hvala YES! I can imagine myself and colleagues (including Matt) dancing crazy in the EuroClub with that song! It looks like Lea doesn’t have as many fans like other favorite countries but she may be lucky in the second semi-final. Fingers crossed for her! Love you Lea, good luck!”

Sean – “This is one of those songs that just really comes to life in a live setting! It’s a really quirky and modern entry from Slovenia which I did not expect. Lea Sirk is clearly a very confident and sassy performer, perfect for the energy of this song. It took a while to grow on me and it’s not going to break records in Lisbon but it’s a welcome addition to the pack for sure!”

Stefan – “It wasn’t one of my favorites, but I knew it had high chances to win. Also I am not digging the lyrics, I was hoping for a translation, since most of the people wouldn’t understand it. Everybody is just into the tune and repeating Hvala, ne. The performance at EMA was just OK, so I am also hoping to see something new in Lisbon. Let’s see how it goes…”

6 points

Matt – “Definitely something I enjoy enough, not hitting the skip button. Now there are several things that bother me about this, the biggest issue I have is that I wish that she’d “sing” more. It feels a bit talky and I get it, that’s intentional. But it kinda rubs me the wrong way. It is fun for what it is though.”

5 points

Christian – “It has been my skip song so far this year but of course gave it a few spins again to review it. This kind of electro dub step has a hard time at ESC just think of Lithuania 2014 “Attention”. I am exited to hear the good arguments of the fans of the song. For me it is just a matter of personal taste but the genre does not appeal to me at all. I love that this song is sung in native tongue and I like that this genre is presented to give a wide appeal in music taste.”

3 points

Connor – “This is a weird entry to me, and I think my biggest issue is that the vocals and the backing track seem to be competing with each other for 3 minutes. Add in the really disappointing chorus, and we’ve got a meh song with picture frames and a bright LED staging. I’m not sure how well Slovenia will do this year, but they won’t pull an Omar and come last. They could surprise me though.”

2 points

David – “This song could’ve been so good, but there is just one point, that ruins is so much for me. Whenever the song builds up more and more, then the beat drops, and that’s where getting completely off. It doesn’t happen only once, but multiple times during the song, and I’m honestly surprised how much it damages the song in my ears. A sweet dance track, that just get’s completely ruined. I’ve tried to like it so much, but I just can’t.”

0 points

Robert – “Flashy lights and noise. This song has a decent 15 seconds in the build up to the chorus, but everything else about it is just so trashy. I have no respect for this entry at all. The singing is hardly anything exceptional, but there’s so little about it that would ever appeal to me. There is a horrific drop in the middle – what’s clever or good about it?! Anyone can pause! Nope, definitely not for me this year.”

A love or hate entry from Slovenia this year then it seems, which results in a final jury score of 54 points! Will this improve much with the televote? We will see tomorrow… but for now here are the current scores!

Now it’s up to #YOU – what are your thoughts on the Slovenian entry this year? Share your short review of the song below in the comments, on our forum HERE or on social media @escunited and we’ll feature the best tomorrow. Also, don’t forget to vote in our poll to help decide the full score for Slovenia!

Tomorrow we move west, as Ireland’s soothing ballad is the next song to face the panel!

This Saturday, the biggest Eurovision Song Contest pre-party will kick off! It has now been confirmed that 32 participants will be travelling to Amsterdam to meet journalists and press and entertain the fans during the concert!

The concert, which this year will be celebrating its tenth year anniversary, will be held for the first time at the larger AFAS Arena in Amsterdam.

This year’s concert will be hosted by Dutch Eurovision commentator Cornald Maas and Dutch singer
Edsilia Rombley, who represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest both in 1998 and
2007.

The participants who will be in Amsterdam are:

Albania – Eugent Bushpepa

Armenia – Sevak Khanagyan

Australia – Jessica Mauboy

Austria – Cesár Sampson

Belarus – Alekseev

Belgium – Sennek

Bulgaria – Equinox

Czech Republic – Mikolas Josef

Denmark – Rasmussen

Finland – Saara Alto

France – Madame Monsieur

Germany – Michael Schulte

Hungary – AWS

Iceland – Ari Ólafsson

Ireland – Ryan O’Shaughnessy

Israel – Netta

Latvia – Laura Rizzotto

Lithuania – Ieva Zasimauskaitė

(FYR) Macedonia – Eye Cue

Malta – Christabelle

Moldova – DoReDoS

Montenegro – Vanja Radovanović

Netherlands – Waylon

Poland – Gromee ft. Lukas Meijer

San Marino – Jessika ft. Jenifer Brening

Serbia – Sanja Ilić & Balkanika

Slovenia – Lea Sirk

Spain – Alfred & Amaia

Sweden – Benjamin Ingrosso

Switzerland – Zibbz

Ukraine – Mélovin

United Kingdom – SuRie

Sean & myself will be present in Amsterdam to update #YOU with the latest updates and backstage coverage from the concert.

Make sure to like, subscribe and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and #YOU won’t miss a thing – stay tuned!

Eight acts lined up the EMA stage this night. Lea Sirk opened with Hvala, ne, while Nuška Draščked closed the final with Ne zapusti me zdaj.
Out of the eight competing songs, six were performed in Slovene.

Last years representative (and 2005), Omar Naber opened the show with his Eurovision entry On my way and also served as interval act with his new single I still believe in you. Former EMA contestant, who was also one of the hosts, Raiven, performed a medley of her songs.

Amaya (Maja Keuc), the 2011 representative, was also part of the interval act.

Lea Sirk won the maximum votes from 5 out of 6 juries, while BQL won the televote.

Combining the votes, Lea Sirk won EMA 2018, thus she will fly to Lisbon and represent Slovenia this May with her funky song Hvala, ne.
Lea is no stranger to Eurovision stage, as she was a backing vocalist for couple of times already.

What do #YOU think of Lea’s song? Tell us in comments bellow and at our Forum topic here.

Well well well. If you thought that the national selection season for this year could not get any more exciting, then you were very wrong! This week has already produced thrills and spills with two entries, the controversial results in Armenia and the dramatic changes and reveals leading up to next week’s Sanmarinese final, but tonight will really be an exciting rollercoaster ride. As #YOU can see from the title, a whopping five countries will choose their entries for the Lisbon edition, while the final semi-final in Melodifestivalen takes place and the semi-finals kick off in Lithuania.

Want to know more about tonight’s action? Read on and get ready for the Super Saturday to end all Super Saturdays…

THE FINALS

HUNGARY – A Dal 2018

Hungary’s all-male line-up in A Dal could provide a diverse, unique entry for Lisbon this weekend, with the majority of the songs in Hungarian. With a line-up including heavy metal bands and electronic songs, Hungary could be bringing the energy to the contest in 2018! The line-up for tonight’s A Dal final is as follows;

Zsolt Süle – Zöld a május

Gergely Dánielfy – Azt mondtad

Gábor Heincz Biga – Good Vibez

Leander Kills – Nem szól harang

AWS – Viszlát nyár

Viktor Király – Budapest Girl

yesyes – I Let You Run Away

Tamás Horváth – Meggyfa

This week, the juries will help to decide the four songs that make it through to the televoting segment, where the Hungarian public will decide their winner for the competition in May. #YOU can follow all of the live action from Budapest HERE or join the discussion on our forum HERE.

LATVIA – Supernova 2018

Latvia’s national final has grown from a four-song selection in the 2017 final to eight tonight, although this came with a little help from the voting errors in the semi-final stage! Sudden Lights have won the wildcard for the final after it was revealed they topped the Latvian televote in the first semi-final, while Ritvars keeps his place as a pseudo-wildcard after the voting issues in the semi-final. The eight acts fighting to represent Latvia are;

Sudden Lights – Just Fine

Ritvars – Who’s Counting?

MADARA – Esamība

Liene Greifāne – Walk the Talk

Lauris Valters – Lovers Bliss

Edgars Kreilis – Younger Days

Laura Rizzotto – Funny Girl

Markus Riva – This Time

The result will be decided through a combination of jury voting and televoting. All of the action can be found HERE from 20:25 CET while #YOU can discuss the show with other Eurovision fans on our forum HERE. Sean will be in Riga for the show so expect some behind-the-scenes reports to follow!

MOLDOVA – O melodie pentru Europa 2018

After scrapping the semi-final stage of this year’s competition, Moldova has left itself with a marathon of epic proportions in O melodie pentru Europa! The Eastern European country achieved a shock third place finish in Kyiv, and will be hoping for more of the same in 2018! Can any of these entries bring Moldova to the top of the scoreboard once more?

The sixteen acts in O melodie pentru Europa 2018 are;

Tolik – Broken Glass

Lavinia Rusu – Altundeva

Bella Luna – Moments

Anna Timofei – Endlessly

Ilia Sorocean & Dasha DaGro – Minds & Veins

Che-MD – Inima-n stîngă

Constantin Cobîlean – Numai tu

DoReDos – My Lucky Day

Sandy C & Aaron Sibley – Once Upon a Time

Anna Odobescu – Agony

Nicoleta Sava – Esencia del Sur

Doinița Gherman – Dance in Flames

Felicia Dunaf – Alien

Viorela – The Gates of Love

Vera Țurcanu – Black Heart

Ruslan Tsar – Come to Life

A jury of musical professionals and televoting from the Moldovan public will help to decide the Moldovan entrant for 2018. The show can be found from 18:40 CET HERE, while the forum will be buzzing with activity right HERE!

SLOVENIA – EMA 2018

Last week’s semi-final split the participants down to the final eight, with last year’s big favourites BQL still in the mix after ManuElla and Nika Zorjan were eliminated. As is vogue with national selections these days, a professional jury and the Slovenian televote will decide the entry. The eight participation songs are;

Lea Sirk – Hvala, ne!

Indigo – Vesna

Ina Shai – Glow

BQL – Promise

Marina Martensson – Blizu

Lara Kadis – Zdaj sem tu

Proper – Ukraden cvet

Nuška Drašček – Ne zapusti me zdaj

Watch EMA 2018 live from 20:00 CET right HERE, and #YOU can join the discussion with other Eurovision fans HERE on our forum.

UKRAINE – Vidbir 2018

Last year’s host nation returns to the contest as a semi-final participant in 2018, but that won’t dampen Ukrainian spirits. The two-time winners will be hoping to make a name for themselves again in Lisbon with another strong national final line-up, including returning artists Kadnay, Tayanna and Mélovin. The final six in the Ukrainian selection are;

Kadnay – Beat of the Universe

Tayanna – Lelya

The Erised – Heroes

Laud – Waiting

Vilna – Forest Song

Mélovin – Under the Ladder

Ukraine’s national final Vidbir begins at 18:00 CET and #YOU can watch it HERE. Our Ukrainian thread is one of the more popular on our forum so why not take a look HERE?

THE QUALIFIERS

LITHUANIA – Eurovizijos Atranka 2018 – Semi-Final 1

Gabrielius Vagelis – The Distant

GeraiGerai & Silvija Pankūnaitė – More Than You Know

Kotryna Juodzevičiūtė – That Girl

The Roop – Yes, I Do

Godo – Fire Fountain

Greta Zazza – Broken Shadows

Jurgis Brūzga – 4Love

The top three acts as decided by the Lithuanian public and the professional juries will qualify to the final on March 11th, with three more joining next week. #YOU can keep an eye on proceedings in Lithuania live from 20:00 CET HERE, and make sure to discuss the show on our forum HERE!

SWEDEN – Melodifestivalen 2018 – Semi-Final 4

We’ve already made it to the final semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2018 which can only mean one thing; we now have an idea of who might win the competition! All of the songs will be known to the viewing public tonight, but one artist in tonight’s semi-final certainly has Eurovision fans excited…

Emmi Christensson – Icarus

Elias Abbas – Mitt paradis

Felicia Olsson – Break That Chain

Rolandz – Fuldans

Olivia Eliasson – Never Learn

Felix Sandman – Every Single Day

Mariette – For You

If #YOU don’t want to miss any of the excitement from the last Swedish semi, make sure to tune in from 20:00 CET HERE and join the discussion on our forum HERE.

Which show will #YOU be watching this evening? Share your thoughts with us on our forum HERE or join the discussion below and on social media @escunited!

Tonight’s EMA saw sixteen acts perform their songs for the first time, and only eight of them could proceed to the final, which is scheduled for next Saturday. Among the participants, we saw two former Slovenian representatives, Tanja Ribič & ManuElla, as well as a few comebacks from the last year, including KiNG FOO, Ina Shai, BQL, Nika Zorjan, Lea Sirk, Nuška Drašček.

The rules of the seminal stated that all the songs must be sung in Slovenian, but songs can be translated into English for the final.

The top four from the jury votes and the viewers’ four favorites got the chance to perform their songs once again in the final, where the winner and the next representative of the country will be chosen by an equal mix of jury and televote.

You can also check the performances of the competitors who didn’t manage to qualify on the official YouTube channel of EMA.

As now we have heard all the songs and know the eight finalists, tell us who #YOU think will win EMA 2018 and fly to Lisbon under the Slovenian flag. Share your thoughts in comments bellow or at our Forum here.

We hope that #YOU haven’t had your fill of Eurovision shows yet, because there’s a hell of a lot more to come this weekend! Tonight could be considered the ‘Super Saturday’ of this year’s season as NINE shows take place across Europe including one final selection. Not sure how you’re going to keep up with all of this? Fear not, we will have your back – find out a little more about all nine shows below!

ESTONIA – Eesti Laul – Semi-Final 2 – 20:35 CET

Eesti Laul continues this weekend with the second semi-final. Ten acts will compete for five qualifier slots to the live final in Tallinn on March 3rd. Rolf Roosalu returns to the selection this weekend alongside Gerli Padar who represented Estonia back in 2007 with “Partners in Crime”, failing to qualify. Can she make it back to the contest this year?

Marju Länik – Täna otsuseid ei tee

Rolf Roosalu – Show a Little Love

Frankie Animal – (Can’t Keep Calling) Misty

Eliis Pärna & Gerli Padar – Sky

Indrek Ventmann – Tempel

Evestus – Welcome to My World

Karl Kristjan & Karl Killing ft. Wateva – Young

Metsakutsu – Koplifornia

Girls in Pearls – Spellbound

Nika – Knock Knock

#YOU can follow everything that happens in this week’s semi-final by following the live stream HERE or join the discussion on our forum HERE!

HUNGARY – A Dal – Semi-Final 2 – 20:30 CET

Hungary come one step closer to deciding their hopeful for Lisbon tonight with the last of the qualification rounds. With a 100% rate of finals since their return to the contest in 2011, the pressure is on to continue the good run! Can any of tonight’s songs provide the first ever Hungarian winner?

All of the action from Hungary can be followed live using the Hungarian live stream HERE or #YOU can join the discussion with fellow Eurofans right HERE!

ICELAND – Söngvakeppnin – Semi-Final 2 – 20:45 CET

Iceland have not been too lucky in the contest in recent years and have slumped to three consecutive non-qualifications. Hopes will be high in Lisbon to avoid this, and tonight the national selection continues with the second semi-final. The competing acts are;

Aron Hannes – Golddigger

Áttan – Hér með þér

Dagur Sigurðsson – Í stormi

Stefanía, Agnes & Regína – Svaka stuð

Þórir & Gyða – Brosa

Rakel Pálsdóttir – Óskin mín

Want to follow the live show as Iceland decide their next set of finalists? #YOU can watch the show HERE or discuss the show with fellow Eurofans on our forum HERE!

LATVIA – Supernova – Semi-Final 3 – 20:25 CET

A dramatic week in Latvia has now left us with five finalists, and two more are expected to join next week’s final tonight! Another strong line-up beckons in one of Eurovision’s most unique national selections;

Jenny May – Soledad

Ed Rallidae – What I Had With You

Katrine Lukins – Running Red Lights

Lauris Valters – Lovers Bliss

MIONIA – You

Kris & Oz – Morning Flight

Laura Rizzotto – Funny Girl

Two of the acts are expected to make the final when avoiding any counting errors, so make sure #YOU tune in to the Supernova semi-final HERE or join the discussion on our forum HERE!

LITHUANIA – Eurovizijos Atranka – Heat 6 – 20:00 CET

Lithuania’s epic national selection continues tonight with another elimination round, with some big favourites here. Ieva Zasimauskaitė currently holds the top spot with he jury, although Saules kliosas are another favourite in this heat. Tonight’s twelve acts are;

Živilė Gedvilaitė – Melody

Audrius Petrauskas – In My Bones

Agnė Michalenkovaitė – Going On

Saulės kliošas – Įkvėpk ir nepaleisk (Man gaila)

Greta Zazza – Broken Shadows

Ruta Loop – Positive Thoughts

Marija – This Love

The Roop – Yes, I Do

Elizabeth Olshey – Bejausmis

Monika Marija – The Truth

Gabrielius Vagelis – The Distant

Ieva Zasimauskaitė – When We’re Old

Six acts will qualify for the next round tonight, and #YOU can watch all of the action unfold on the live stream HERE, while joining in the discussion with fellow Eurofans on our forum HERE!

MONTENEGRO – Montevizija – Final – 20:00 CET

Despite all of the shows tonight, only one country will actually make its decision for Lisbon. It’s the turn of Montenegro, who return to a national selection after a number of years. The five Montenegrin hopefuls are;

Nina Petković – Dišem

Vanja Radovanović – Inje

Ivana Popović Martinović – Poljupci

Katarina Bogićević – Neželjena

Lorena Janković – Dušu mi daj

Televoting alone will decide Montenegro’s selection for Eurovision, and #YOU can follow every twist and turn live HERE, with the forum thread for Montenegro taking place HERE.

SLOVENIA – EMA – Semi-Final – 20:00 CET

Slovenia will finally kick off their much-anticipated EMA national selection tonight as the sixteen selected acts prepare to do battle for the ticket to Lisbon. ManuElla (Slovenia 2016) is back for another shot but it is perhaps BQL who will have many eyes on them after being one of the favourites last year.

The acts chosen for EMA are;

Anabel – Pozitiva

BQL – Ptica

Gregor Ravnik – Zdaj je čas

Ina Shai – V nebo

Indigo – Vesna

KiNG FOO – Žive sanje

Lara Kadis – Zdaj sem tu

Lea Sirk – Ne, hvala!

ManuElla – Glas

Marina Martensson – Blizu

MILA – Svoboda

Nika Zorjan – Uspavanka

Nuška Drašček – Ne zapusti me zdaj

Orter – Kraljica

Proper – Ukraden cvet

Tanja Ribič – Ljudje

Eight of the acts will make it through to the final. #YOU can watch the first part of EMA tonight right HERE, with the forum thread relating to Slovenia being found HERE.

SWEDEN – Melodifestivalen – Semi-Final 3 – 20:00 CET

Sweden’s massively popular Melodifestivalen has already reached its third stage! The grandest competition in the Eurovision world heads to Malmö this weekend with the 2013 host arena holding the third semi-final. The seven competing acts are;

Martin Almgren – A Bitter Lullaby

Barbi Escobar – Stark

Moncho – Cuba Libre

Jessica Andersson – Party Voice

Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän – Min dröm

Dotter – Cry

Méndez – Everyday

Once again two acts will go direkt til finalen, with two more going to andra chansen. #YOU can watch all of the action live from Sweden at 20:00 CET HERE, and join the lively discussion with other Eurofans on the forum HERE.

UKRAINE – Vidbir – Semi-Final 2 – 18:00 CET

Ingret – Save My Planet

Mélovin – Under the Ladder

Julinoza – Hto ya?

Tayanna – Lelya

Kadnay – Beat of the Universe

Yurcash – Stop Killing Love

Mountain Breeze – I See You

Ilaria – Syla

Dilemma – Na Party

#YOU can follow all of the action from Ukraine’s Vidbir live tonight HERE and join the discussion on our busy Ukrainian forum thread HERE!

Which of these shows will #YOU watch this weekend? Share your thoughts with us on our forum HERE or join the discussion below and on social media!

Last year she took to the EMA stage with her beautiful ballad “Color Me” and this year she is back with “V Nebo”,and there is also an English version prepared; “Glow”. Even while being so busy living between London and Ljubljana, she manages to write and publish her own music and even win some awards along the way. It’s time we spoke to Slovenia’s Ina Shai!

What has happened in your life since last EMA?

I graduated! I’ve been studying music in London for three years and after I finished I decided to stay there for a bit longer as it is a great place to be if you want to develop as an artist. Besides graduating the highlight was definitely becoming a featuring artist on BBC Radio Introducing London with a song from my debut EP Overload that I released in October 2016, and performing at Hay Festival where I opened for Emmy the Great. I also won the Charter Champion UK Music Innovation award in 2017. At the moment I am focusing on writing new material for my next releases as well as writing for other artists. I really can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on.

When and why did you decide to apply for EMA again?

About a week or two before the deadline I got a great idea for a song and I quickly recorded it on my phone. I called my producer Hans Kristjan Aljas and the next day we were already recording a demo in the studio. From the start I felt that this song would be perfect to perform at EMA and potentially at Eurovision so I didn’t hesitate to apply with it.

What can you tell us about your EMA song?

The title of the song is “V nebo” and “Glow” (for the English version). It is a powerful song, a modern ballad with a big chorus and meaningful lyrics that are meant to inspire and hopefully unite people all over the world.

What is your first Eurovision memory?

– It’s so hard to say because I’ve been watching Eurovision ever since I was a little girl. I remember once I wasn’t at home to watch it and I asked one of my friends dad to record it on a tape so I could watch it a day later. I am not sure how old I was but I was absolutely obsessed with Eurovision at the time.

Your favorite Eurovision song?

Euphoriaaa. And I really like last year’s winning song “Amar pelos dois”. My heart melts every time I hear it.

What is a typical day like for you?

No two days are the same. At the moment I am very busy preparing everything for my performance at EMA. I would usually wake up at around 9 or 10am (I love to sleep yes!) unless I have an early morning radio interview which means I have to get up at 6am. Then I would check my emails, answer interviews, update my social media. I would then either have a rehearsal with my choreographer, a vocal lesson or a dress fitting. There is a lot of traveling as well and I am on the road a lot which takes a lot of my time. When I am in London I also have a lot of writing sessions planned with different producers – I absolutely love writing songs – it’s my favourite part of the job besides performing live. Then of course I always take the time to relax and to hang out for my friends and if I am in London I would chat with my family online. I am thankful for all the applications that allow me to stay in touch with my loved ones even though we live so far from each other. It would be very difficult otherwise.

Would you be so kind to tell us something interesting about yourself, something that isn’t commonly known?

Hmm… I am quite a good skier. When I was younger I was training skiing but then my love for singing and dancing took over and I focused more on that. I do not regret it but I still love to go to the mountains to ski or snowboard. I just love the adrenaline!

Do you have any message for Eurovision fans all around the world?

Share the love and positivity and be yourself. Glow in the way only you can!

We would like to thank Ina Shai for her time and wish her the best of luck with her participation in EMA 2018!

What do #YOU think of Ina Shai’s entry? Share your thoughts with us on our forum HERE or join the discussion below and on social media!

He is a student of Dentistry at the Medical faculty of Ljubljana and also a student of singing at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. He participated in the popular festival Melodija Morja in Sonca where he won the prize of the professional jury. He is coming to EMA with the song Zdaj je čas(Now’s the time). Gregor thinks of himself as a very happy person who has many friends and enormous amount of positive energy. He was kind enough to chat to ESC United. Check out his interview.

When and why did you apply for EMA?

– I think EMA is the most watched music show in Slovenia. It is a great opportunity for a young artist to perform on this stage. So as soon as it was possible to apply I started to work on my song.

What can you tell us anything about your EMA song?

– It is a love song with a positive message. It has a modern sound and I am happy to have the honour to perform it on EMA 2018.

What is your first Eurovision memory?

– I remember watching Eurovision when I was very young. I think one of the first Eurovision contests I watched was in 2007, when Serbia won.

Your favourite Eurovision song?

– I think it would be an Italian one. Grande amore or L’essenziale.

What is a typical day like for you?

– Usually I wake up early. In the morning I have classes at the Faculty of Medicine while in the afternoon I spend my time at the Academy of Music. I like to spend my free time with friends.

Would you be so kind to tell us something interesting about yourself? Something that isn’t commonly known.

– Hmm… I am actually quite an open person, so I don’t know if there really is something unknown about me. I am a very honest person and I like it that way.